


Moving Day

by ReddieOrNot (cajungirlkye)



Series: Thirst Tweet AU Companion Fics [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mutual Pining, Part of the Thirst Tweet AU on Twitter, Pining, Pre-Slash, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23434654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cajungirlkye/pseuds/ReddieOrNot
Summary: Part of the Thirst Tweet AU on Twitter -- What happened during the weekend that Richie was in New York helping Eddie move into his new place?
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: Thirst Tweet AU Companion Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685785
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Thirst Tweet AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/576628) by Thirst_Tweet_AU. 



> ***While this fic is rated T, the AU itself is NSFW and future companion fics will be NSFW/rated E***

Eddie stared down at the Losers' group chat on his phone as he sat on the bed in his hotel room. He had been composing various versions of the same text message then deleting them.

He set his phone down and laid back on the bed. _How did I even get here,_ he thought, then snorted. He knew _exactly_ how he had gotten there.

He had walked into the Jade of the Orient restaurant in Derry, Maine three months ago wondering why all these _memories_ and _feelings_ were suddenly slamming into him.

The second he heard the gong sound and turned around he had his answer. _Oh. That's why._

Richie _fucking_ Tozier. Childhood best friend and cause of many awkward teenage boners.

His tall, lanky best friend had grown into a tall, lanky, broad… _man_.

 _Oh fuck,_ Eddie had thought at the time. _I'm gay. I'm gay, and I'm in love with Richie._

He had put his sexuality crisis on the back burner, however, when the fortune cookies started shaking.

When they were hightailing it out of the restaurant, Richie ranting about 'getting the _fuck_ out of Derry', Stanley had finally arrived. "Oh thank God you guys are still here," he panted.

"Stan?" Bill had said. 

"Yeah, sorry I'm late. My flight was delayed," Stan had explained.

Plans were made, tokens were found, and a killer alien clown/spider/whatever-the-fuck was vanquished for good.

After it was over, they had all gathered at the quarry to wash off, everyone laughing and splashing and having a good time.

Eddie had stuck close to Richie, those old childhood feelings returning in full force.

Richie had been sitting on a rock and was cleaning his glasses when he spoke up. "Uh, so I have to tell you guys something. I'm gay."

Richie's words kept repeating in Eddie's head. _I'm gay. I'm gay I'm gay I'm gay I'm gay I'm gay I'm--_

His train of thought was shattered by broken sobs. Apparently Richie had started crying while Eddie was having his brief internal freakout.

Eddie instantly moved to wrap Richie in a hug, soon joined by the other Losers.

Richie had sniffled and laughed. "Well if I had known coming out would wind up having me surrounded by a bunch of hot guys plus Bev in a group hug I'd have come out a long time ago."

Everyone had groaned and Eddie had pushed Richie off of the rock, starting a wrestling match like they had back when they were kids.

The next morning after the group all gave their final goodbyes before heading back to their respective homes, Richie and Eddie had hung back.

"So you're cool, right?" Richie had asked. "With the whole 'me being gay' thing."

Eddie had nodded. "Yeah, dude, you're still my best friend. That doesn't change anything." _Mostly because I am too,_ he thought. 

He had wanted to come out to Richie-- to everyone-- but there was something he needed to do first.

Richie had looked relieved. "Ok, good. So, we'll keep in touch?"

Eddie nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Stan set up that group chat and we all have each others' numbers. But definitely let me know whenever you're in New York, alright?"

Richie shuffled his feet. "Yeah. You too. With LA, I mean." 

Eddie had given Richie one final hug before climbing into his rental car and heading back to New York.

Richie had come out publicly on Twitter two days later, spurring Eddie into action.

Which brought them to now.

 _So guess what? Richie's not the only gay one in the group,_ he typed out then quickly deleted.

 _I remembered that I'm in love with Richie and decided to leave my wife for a shot with him._ Hahahaha, **nope**. He deleted that too.

Finally he settled for, _I'm getting a divorce_ , and hit send.

His phone buzzed as the messages from the other Losers rolled in, mostly variations of ' _Proud of you, Eddie!_ and _How are you doing?_ from Ben, Bev, Bill, Mike, and Stan.

But none from the one person he wanted to hear from the most.

Then again, it _was_ 8:30 am on the west coast and Richie was known for sleeping until noon, which is why Eddie was surprised when 10 minutes later, his phone chimed with a text alert.

Richie had responded, but separately from the group. _Hey dude I saw your message in the gc, you doing ok?_

 _Yeah, I'm fine. It was a long time coming,_ Eddie responded.

_Still man you're divorcing your wife. That's brave of you._

Eddie thought back to Richie's speech in the cistern. _I'm braver than I think, right Rich?_

 _Yeah, buddy, you're braver than you think._ Then, _Listen if you need anything at all don't hesitate to contact me._

Eddie was typing out his thanks when another message from Richie popped up. _You got a place to stay?_

Myra had gone to stay with her sister for a month, leaving Eddie time to get his few personal belongings and move them into the storage unit where he was keeping the furniture from the place he had lived in before marrying Myra. Once that was done, Eddie had checked into an extended-stay hotel while he looked for a new place to live.

Eddie looked at the lease he had just signed. _Actually, I'm moving into a new place this weekend._

He had lucked out -- a coworker of his owned a townhouse nearby that he leased out, and his current tenants were vacating soon. Eddie had taken a look at the townhouse and agreed to a 1-year lease.

He wrinkled his brow at Richie's next message. _Ok hold on._

5 minutes later, his phone chimed once again. Eddie's stomach flipped as he read Richie's message. _I've booked a flight out to JFK Fri morn. I'll have to be back in LA on Sun night because I have a meeting with Netflix about my upcoming special on Mon._

Eddie read Richie's text message three times before he responded. _Richie, you didn't have to do that._

_You're my best friend dude ofc I'm gonna come help you get your bachelor pad set up._

Eddie honestly felt like he could cry. _Thank you, Rich. Truly._

Eddie was pretty sure that Richie's meeting with Netflix had originally been on Friday, which meant that Richie had literally rearranged his life in order to fly out to NYC on a whim in order to help Eddie move.

He scratched absentmindedly at his latest tattoo as he mulled that fact over. As part of his newfound freedom he had decided to get inked and liked it so much that he had wound up getting several over the past few months. The latest one was almost fully healed but still itched on occasion.

He hadn't told anyone about the tattoos lest they think he was having a mid-life crisis. _Actually, AM I?_ Eddie thought. _I'm almost 40, just remembered my entire childhood which included fighting a demon clown with my best friends, went back to my hometown to kill the demon clown for good, and also remembered that I'm very very gay and very very in love with my childhood best friend._

Just in case, he had also started seeing a therapist. Carmen was extremely patient with him, letting Eddie open up to her in his own time. During their first session she had suggested keeping a diary of some sort, one that only Eddie had access to. _Just to get your thoughts out,_ she had said. _No one will see it but you, not even me._

Eddie hadn't wanted to get a physical notebook lest he accidentally leave it somewhere or, god forbid, Myra happen to pick it up during one of the meetings with their lawyers.

So Eddie had joined Twitter. He created a private, locked account with protected tweets, and began posting.

_I'm nervous about this first meeting with the lawyer. Just want to get everything over with._

_Saw Richie on a repeat episode of Kimmel tonight. He looked good._

_Talked to Richie today. He's got an interview with OUT Magazine and is talking about going back on tour really soon, this time with his own material. I'm so proud of him._

He pulled up his account and posted several Tweets. _Richie's coming to NYC to help me move into my new place,_ then _He dropped everything and rescheduled Netflix for me,_ and finally, _If I wasn't already in love with him I think I would be now._

He closed out of Twitter and pulled up his email, where Richie had forwarded him his flight details.

Just two more days until he got to see Richie.

* * *

Eddie pulled his Escalade into short-term parking and headed inside the airport, where Richie had just texted him that his flight had landed.

He waited until he spotted Richie's curly mop of hair coming towards him.

Richie lit up when he spotted Eddie. "Eds!" 

Eddie wrapped Richie in a hug. "Hey, Rich, good to see you. Thanks for coming."

"Of course, man, I told you if you ever needed anything I'd be there for you." He backed up and held Eddie by his shoulders. "Damn, dude. You been working out?"

Eddie crossed his arms, flustered by Richie's scrutiny. "Not any more than usual."

Richie pulled Eddie into another brief hug. "Divorce looks good on you, man."

Eddie laughed. "Thanks, Rich. Let's go."

They made their way back to Eddie's Escalade. "I figure we can start by getting the bedrooms set up in my place tonight, then worry about everything else tomorrow," Eddie said. "I don't have a lot of furniture -- just a couch and some stuff from before I was married -- but I ordered a couple of bedroom sets that are being delivered today."

"Sounds good, man."

They talked on the way to Eddie's townhouse, each filling in the other on stuff that hadn't made it into the group chat or their private conversations. Finally, Eddie pulled up to his townhouse and parked. "It's not much," Eddie said as he unlocked the door, "but it was the best I could find in my price range on such short notice. And I mean, obviously it's empty right now."

Eddie's townhouse had an open floor plan, with a small foyer leading into the kitchen/dining area. The living area was to the right of the kitchen with the bedrooms and bathroom towards the back of the townhouse, and a small patio/backyard area. It wasn't huge, but it was going to be home for the foreseeable future.

"Nah, man, I like it," Richie said, setting the box he was carrying on the kitchen counter. "It suits you."

Eddie set up the folding card table he had brought in. "Let's get the rest of the stuff before the furniture gets here."

He and Richie carried in a couple of boxes of Eddie's things that he had taken from his old apartment as well as some folding chairs so they would have somewhere to sit until they picked up the rest of Eddie's belongings the following day. 

They had just finished putting away the few dishes Eddie had brought when the doorbell rang.

Eddie checked his phone. "That'll be the furniture."

He let the delivery driver in and directed them to the bedrooms. 

Eddie had purchased two of the same set for ease, swapping out the media chest for a matching desk for the spare bedroom.

Once everything was in place and the beds had been set up, Eddie signed the delivery receipt and thanked the delivery men.

"Ok, so what's next, Eds?" Richie asked as the door shut behind them.

"Now we go buy bedding sets," Eddie replied. "I meant to do that earlier this week but between trying to get ahead on work so I could take today off and meetings with the lawyers trying to get everything finalized I didn't have time. I figure we can pick up something to eat on the way back?"

Richie shrugged. "Okay."

Eddie drove them to a local home goods store and headed inside, Richie right behind him.

Eddie picked out some pillows for the beds then headed to the bedding sets.

"Hmm, what do you think about this one?" Eddie asked, pointing to a plain light blue set.

Richie snorted. "Dude that looks like something my parents would've had in the 80s."

He pointed to a set of twin-size Mickey Mouse sheets. "Here you go. These are perfect for you."

Eddie shot him a glare.

Richie cackled. "Dude, you should see your face!" He turned back towards the bedding sets and paused. "Wait, actually, how about this one?"

Eddie turned to see a black & light gray patterned set, one that actually would suit him well. "Yeah, actually, I like this one." He pulled it off the shelf and set it in his cart. "Ok, I need one for the guest room."

Richie stopped in front of a black, gray & red set with geometric patterns on the sheets. "I kind of like this one."

Eddie stopped next to him. "This one?"

Richie examined the set. "Yeah, this one. I like the pattern. And the colors are cool too."

"Ok, I'll get this one for the guest room."

Richie turned towards him. " _You_ actually like this one? I figured it'd be too busy for you."

Eddie shrugged casually. "It's fine. Besides, it's for the guest room. I'm only going to be using it as a home office unless you or one of the others happen to be in town." 

He avoided Richie's eye as he said, "come on, let's go grab some towels and stuff for the bathroom so we can actually take showers tonight."

After Eddie bought out half of the home goods store (according to Richie) they called in an order for Chinese takeout then stopped at a bodega for some beer before heading back to Eddie's townhouse to eat at the little card table in Eddie's kitchen.

They cleaned up and moved Eddie's home goods purchases to their respective rooms, Eddie placing half of the bathroom supplies in the small closet in the guest bathroom and the others in the master bath.

"You've got making up the guest bed, right?" Eddie asked. 

"Yeah, dude, I've got this."

"Ok, then I'm gonna go make mine and shower before heading to bed. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

"Ok, sounds good."

Eddie hesitated before walking over to Richie and wrapping his arms around him in a hug. "Thanks again for being here for me, Rich," he mumbled into Richie's chest. "I appreciate it."

"Eh, it was nothing," Richie replied casually, his head tucked into Eddie's shoulder. "I didn't have anything else to do this weekend anyway."

Eddie looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. "Dude, I know you rescheduled that meeting with Netflix. You mentioned it in the group chat on Sunday that it was today."

Richie shrugged awkwardly. "Yeah, well, you're my best friend, Eds. You're way more important than a Netflix deal."

Eddie wanted to lean up and kiss him, but he refrained. Instead, he squeezed Richie once more and stepped back. "You're my best friend too."

He backed up towards the door. "Good night, Rich. See you in the morning."

Richie gave him a crooked grin. "Night, Eds."

Eddie went back to his room and made his bed before taking a shower. He let his thoughts briefly wander to the man in his guest bedroom before mentally chastizing himself. He stepped out of his shower and glanced at his bedroom door before changing into a pair of long-sleeved pajamas and climbing into bed.

He closed his eyes and fell into the best night's sleep he had had since returning from Derry.


	2. Saturday - Part 1

The next morning, Eddie got dressed in a long-sleeved henley and sweatpants and headed out to the kitchen.  _ I'm so glad I bought another Keurig, _ he thought as he waited for his coffee to brew.

It had just finished brewing when Richie came out of the guest bedroom, fully-dressed in a ratty t-shirt and jeans. " _ Fuck _ , it's early," he yawned. "Please tell me you have coffee."

"Yeah dude, here," Eddie said, handing Richie the mug and getting himself another.

Richie eyed his mug, then the Keurig warily.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "It's not a pod, it's dark roast mixed with espresso in a perma-pod filter. Jeez, and I thought  _ I _ was a coffee snob."

"Bless you, then," Richie said, moving toward the refrigerator. "Sugar?"

Eddie toyed with the idea of flirting with Richie, saying something coy like,  _ are you offering? _ Instead, he sighed and waved towards the cabinet. "In the pantry. I have some leftover packets from Starbucks."

He cleaned out the perma-pod filter and refilled it and set his Keurig to brew, then watched as Richie added an ungodly amount of sugar and a splash of milk to his coffee.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Good to know some things never change. I see you still have a massive sweet tooth."

Richie took a sip, then smirked. "You know what else is massive?"

Eddie resisted the urge to let his eyes travel southward. "Ugh, beep-fucking-beep, asshole."

"Come on, Eds, you know you walked right into that one."

Richie was right, but still… "Fuck you, dude."

Richie raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" he asked instead.

Eddie picked up his new mug of coffee and took a sip. "I rented a U-haul so we can try to get everything out of storage in one trip," he replied. "It's not a ton of stuff, but I have, like, bigger items. A sofa and kitchen table and chairs and such. A couple of bookshelves. I don't really remember what all I kept and what Myra made me donate to Goodwill."

He noticed Richie chose to ignore the comment about Myra. "And you were planning on moving all of that by yourself?"

Eddie shrugged. "I was planning on hiring a moving company, actually."

"Well no need, Eds." Richie clapped his hands together. "Tipsy Tozier Furniture Moving is at your service."

"No," Eddie said immediately. "Absolutely no drinking until after we're completely finished and have returned the U-haul. I'm not spending my evening at the hospital with your dumb ass because you threw your back out or cracked your skull open because you thought it'd be a good idea to get plastered while we were working."

"Okay, fine then, spoilsport." Richie winked at him.

* * *

"To the left," Eddie grunted as he and Richie carted Eddie's sofa into the townhouse and towards the living room. "Tilt it -- no, your other left!" 

Richie managed to tilt the sofa back just enough to avoid crashing into the wall. "Sorry, man."

"It's-- it's fine," Eddie panted. "Ok, ok, here is good, we can set it down now. I have some of those furniture moving pad things I can stick on the feet to make it slide the rest of the way."

They set the sofa down, then Eddie walked over to the bag of furniture-moving supplies he had bought at the home goods store the previous evening.

He turned around and his mouth went dry.

Richie was stretching his arms above his head, making his 6'2" frame appear even taller. A trickle of sweat rolled down his neck, while the t-shirt riding up his torso exposed the slightest bit of skin above his waistline.

Eddie was  _ fucked _ . "Uh--"

Richie appeared not to notice. "Man, thank god that's the last of it. I honestly don't know if my back could've taken moving anything else heavy. As it is I'm probably gonna have to knock back a couple of Aleve before bed tonight."

"There's--" Eddie swallowed and tried again. "There's some in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom if you want to go ahead and take some now. I made dinner reservations for us later, if you're not hurting or too tired."

"Oh?"

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. I wanted to say thank you for helping me out this weekend, so I wanted to treat you to a nice dinner. That's why I told you to bring something nice to wear."  _ And maybe I'd tell you I was in love with you, and maybe you'd tell me you loved me back, and maybe we'd come back here and make out on my sofa until we came in our pants like horny teenagers. _

"Oh well, yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine," Richie said. "I'll just take some Aleve and a hot shower and I should be good to go."

Eddie's mind immediately went to Richie in the shower, water running over the planes of his back, down his chest to his--

"Great!" he said, way too chipper. "Why don't you go ahead and do that and I'll get the sofa moved into its final position. Just be ready to go by six-thirty." 

Richie shot him an odd look. "Okay. You said medicine cabinet, right?"

"Yeah. Should be easy to spot -- I got rid of most of my medicines when I got back from Derry."

As soon as Richie was gone, Eddie pulled out his phone and went to his private Twitter account. 

_ Richie looks so fucking hot while he's moving furniture. _

_ I want to lick the sweat off of his neck. _

_ I'm gonna die from sexual frustration. _

_ Why must he make a ratty t-shirt and jeans look good? _

He put away his phone and sighed, then finished getting the sofa moved. 

After he was done, he went to his bathroom, took a shower, then dressed in a simple black 2-piece suit with a white button-down shirt. He considered adding a tie but ultimately decided against it. 

Right before he walked back into the living room, he made another diary Tweet.

_ Taking Richie out to dinner as a thank-you. Wish it was a date. _

He steeled himself, grabbed his wallet and keys off of his nightstand, and walked out of his bedroom.

Richie was sitting on his sofa, looking at something on his phone. Once he spotted Eddie, though, he put it away. "Wow, Eds, you look… you look good, man."

"Thanks, Rich. You clean up nicely too."

Richie was dressed in a light blue button-down with a black suit. Eddie realized that he was staring, so he moved closer and pretended to brush a piece of lint off of Richie's shoulder. "You had, uh…" he trailed off.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Richie replied. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just get an Uber. It's Saturday night, we're never going to find a parking spot near the restaurant."

Eddie pulled up the Uber app and plugged in the address for the restaurant, then pocketed his phone. "The car'll only be a couple of minutes, so we can head outside."

He double-checked his pockets and they headed out to the sidewalk to wait for the car. As promised, the car arrived only a minute after they got outside.

They climbed into the car and greeted their driver, who introduced himself as Will. He looked into the rearview mirror and immediately recognized Richie. "Hey, aren't you that comedian? Richie Tozier, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Richie replied. "That's me."

Will nodded. "My brother-in-law likes your standup. Bit crass for my tastes, although I really liked you in  _ The Abstract Triplets _ last year. You're a good actor, man. Really bought your performance as Martin."

"Yeah, well, wasn't too hard to channel a gay character," Richie said tightly.

Eddie, who had been trying not to get involved in the conversation, looked up, hackles raised and ready to pounce.

Will smiled. "Yeah, my husband and I read your interview with  _ OUT _ a couple of months ago. You being so open about not writing your own jokes and having to live up to a Hollywood persona was really a win for the LGBT community." He hit the 'home' button on his phone, which went from the GPS to a screen of their driver kissing the cheek of another smiling man. "That's my husband, Rob. Man, he's never going to believe that I met you. He'll be so jealous. So what brings you to New York?"

"I'm here helping my friend move," Richie said in a much more gentle tone. 

Eddie relaxed back into the seat.

Will glanced over at Eddie in the rearview mirror. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm being so rude to your friend here. Is this the one that moved?"

"Yeah, hi," Eddie said.

"Did you just move to New York?" Will asked.

"No, actually I've lived here for years," Eddie explained. "I just got divorced and Richie here was nice enough to fly out here to help me get settled into my new place, so I'm taking him to dinner to thank him."

"Awesome, awesome. Well, we'll be there in just a few minutes, guys." Will switched back to the GPS.

Eddie pulled out his phone and angled it away from Richie, who was busy on his own phone.

_ Richie's cologne smells so damn good,  _ he tweeted.

Soon they pulled up to the restaurant.

"Enjoy your dinner, guys," Will said as Eddie and Richie climbed out of the car. "It was nice meeting you both!"

"You too, man. Tell your husband thanks for the support," Richie said. "Did you want to get a picture?"

"Oh, no, I don't want to impose. You guys have dinner plans."

Richie shook his head. "No, I really don't mind."

Eddie stepped forward. "It's okay, we have a few minutes. I can take the photo, if you want."

Will hesitated. "Well, if you're sure it's okay."

He put the car in park and quickly got out, handing Eddie his phone.

"Ok, I'm going to take a couple of shots, ready? One… two… three."

Eddie took a few pictures and handed the phone back to Will.

"Thanks again, I really appreciate it!" Will said as he climbed back into his car. "Enjoy the rest of your evening!"

"No problem, and you too!" Richie waved as Will drove off.

Eddie eyed him. "That was nice of you, Rich."

"Eh, well, it was the least I could do," Richie replied before turning towards Eddie and giving him a warm smile. "Well, shall we, Eds?"

Eddie grinned as butterflies fluttered in his stomach. "Yes, let's."

He opened the door to the restaurant, gesturing for Richie to walk in ahead of him. He took a deep breath and followed, hoping to work up the courage to tell Richie how he felt.


	3. Saturday Pt. 2/Sunday

Eddie did not work up the courage to tell Richie how he felt.

He had decided that he needed some liquid courage first and would wait until they had drinks.

Then he decided that he'd wait until their server had come by to take their orders.

Then Eddie decided he needed another drink.

Then their food had arrived.

Finally, as they finished their main courses, Eddie opened his mouth to speak. "Rich, I have to tell you something."

Richie took a sip of his fancy craft beer. "What is it, Eds?"

Eddie took a deep breath. "I'm--"

"Excuse me, aren't you Richie Tozier?"

Eddie shut his mouth with an audible click and glanced up at the twenty-something young woman that was looking at Richie.

"Uh, yeah, I am," Richie replied.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to tell you that seeing you come out on Twitter a few months ago made me brave enough to come out to my own family, so I just wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration."

Richie blinked in surprise. "Oh, wow, thanks. That's great."

The woman waved a hand casually at Eddie. "I just wanted to say thank you, I'll let you get back to your date."

Eddie opened his mouth to say 'thank you' when Richie spoke first.

"Oh, this isn't a date."

The young woman blushed. "Oh, sorry for assuming."

"It's okay," Eddie said with a fake smile. He _knew_ it wasn't a date, he never _told_ Richie he wanted it to be a date, he hadn't even _come out_ to Richie, and yet… 

That shit hurt.

As the young woman walked off, Richie turned back to Eddie. "Sorry about that, Eds. Now what were you saying?"

Eddie shook his head. "Nothing, dude. It's not important."

They declined dessert and Eddie paid the check, then they quietly made their way back to Eddie's townhouse.

Richie paused in the doorway of his bedroom. "Hey, Eds… Just wanted to tell you thanks again for dinner. I had a nice time."

Eddie smiled despite himself. "Me too, Rich. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah, see you in the morning."

Eddie went into his bedroom, changed into his pajamas, and climbed into bed.

He tossed and turned most of the night, mentally kicking himself for not speaking up and imagining how much different his night could've turned out had he done so.

Finally, he got up and went to the kitchen, where he was surprised to find Richie already awake.

"Morning, Eds," Richie said.

"Hey, Rich."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Nah. You?"

"Nah." Richie shrugged. "Jet lag finally kicking in, I guess."

Eddie nodded. "What time's your flight?"

"Oh, uh, 10 am."

"Ok, I'll drop you off at the airport later."

Richie shook his head quickly. "Nah, that's okay. I'll just Uber it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, man, it's cool. I know you still have a lot to do around here, lots of boxes to unpack."

Eddie glanced over at the boxes that lined his living room wall. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I should go get my stuff together so I can get to the airport."

"Yeah, ok."

A while later, Richie came out of the guest room. "Uh, I guess I'm gonna go ahead and get going? Gotta check in early for my flight."

Eddie looked up from where he was unpacking a box labeled 'kitchen'. "Oh. Okay."

Richie looked like he hesitated a moment, then walked over and gave Eddie a hug. "I had a nice time, Eds. Maybe we'll have to do this again when I have another weekend free."

Eddie breathed in Richie's scent, trying to commit it to memory. "Yeah. I'd like that."

He backed away. "You better get going. Don't want to miss your flight."

Richie cleared his throat. "Right."

He walked towards the door. "I'll be seeing you, Spagheds."

Eddie rolled his eyes fondly. "Don't call me that, asshole." He quirked a smile. "Bye, Rich."

He watched as Richie opened the door, wheeled his suitcase out, then shut the door behind him.

He sighed and brought up his private Twitter account, then had another idea. After a few moments, he navigated to Add Account and clicked to sign up.


End file.
